


the dursley's in hiding.

by niamhies



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Canon Compliant, Mentioned Harry Potter, Mentioned Lily Evans Potter, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:08:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29758020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niamhies/pseuds/niamhies
Summary: Petunia had lived long enough to rightfully despise magic. It had taken her sister, and now it had taken her nephew.
Relationships: Dudley Dursley & Petunia Evans Dursley, Dudley Dursley & Vernon Dursley, Petunia Evans Dursley/Vernon Dursley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	the dursley's in hiding.

The Dursley’s were huddled in front of the television, watching the news where chaos was reigning in the middle of London. Reports of a large bird-like figure flying across the sky, destroying rooftops of buildings were plastered across the screen. 

Vernon seemed to be grumbling rather loudly under his breath, no longer needing to be told that this was the work of wizards, as he had for the first few months that they had spent living with Hestia and Dedalus. His hatred of magical folk had deepened further over the passing months, as well as his fear of them. Vernon no longer allowed the wizard and witch to answer any of Dudley’s curious questions about Harry and the wizarding world in front of him.

Dudley sat beside him, listening intently to what was being said. Hestia had taught him how to spot whether the events on the news had magic involved or not, and recently it seemed that every other story had gaping holes that nobody had any answers for the public – a sure sign that it had not been caused by any Muggle. 

Petunia buried herself behind the daily newspaper, pretending as though she could not care less what was happening on the news. But her eyes had not moved from the front picture in five minutes, her eyes glazed over, and neck craned in an awkward position so that it was obvious she was listening to every detail. 

It must’ve been serious, because it was only on rare occasions that the family of three had been left with only Hestia to guard them – as Dedalus went out in search for news as soon as the scenes appeared on the television.

He came back awhile later, out of breath and face twitching. At the sound of the door slamming, all the Dursley’s looked up to see him running towards Hestia. 

“Hestia! Hestia, where are you?” he squeaked, looking around. 

Hestia peered around the corner, oven mitts and apron on. “Dedalus, you’re back! Thank Merlin. Get any news?” she asked eagerly, taking the gloves off and untying the apron. 

“We thought right, it’s a dragon. But you’ll never guess where it’s from and who was on it!” 

Vernon made a noise of disapproval, still not entirely convinced that dragons existed in the first place.

Dedalus didn’t wait for Hestia to prompt him and after he hung his cloak up, his voice had risen an octave higher. “Harry Potter! It was him! The Leaky Cauldron was playing the radio and a reporter accidently slipped his name out! Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were with him, on a dragon!”

Hestia gasped, Petunia let out a loud squeak at the mention of her nephew’s name, and Dudley said ‘what?!’ rather loudly.

“Are you sure it was him, Dedalus?” said Hestia.

“Absolutely sure, Hestia! And guess where they got the dragon from! Gringotts!” Dedalus cried, looking very pleased with himself at the expression on the witch’s face.

“Gringotts! They- They broke into Gringotts? Impossible!” gasped Hestia, holding a hand to her heart.

“That’s what I thought so too, but it seems not! There’s a gaping hole in the roof where they escaped on the dragon! Merlin knows how they got in...”

“And what the ruddy hell is Gringotts?” barked Vernon, turning around to glare at the pair of them.

Hestia and Dedalus stopped talking immediately and looked around at the three horrified faces, as though only just remembering they were there too. “Oh, sorry you three – forgot you were here. Well, Gringotts is a Wizarding Bank. It’s protected by Goblins, you see, and nobody’s ever broken into it – ever. You can imagine our surprise at the fact Harry’s managed to,” explained Dedalus, his smile a little wry.

“Breaking the law, is he? Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” Vernon grunted, refusing to mention Harry’s name.

“Yes, well there must be a reason he did it, that none of us know about. So, I wouldn’t go against Harry so quickly, he’s done an awful lot for you, Mr Dursley,” said Hestia, her jaw clenched.

Vernon spluttered. “That boy has done nothing for me!” 

Hestia scoffed loudly, “Oh my goodness. If it weren’t for Harry Potter, you’d have been in the hands of you-know-who long ago!” she retorted, losing her patience. How many more times would he have to berate the man until he realised that he ought to appreciate his nephew?

“Rubbish-“

“Dad, she’s right,” Dudley spoke up quietly, looking at his feet. “If it weren’t for Harry, then I wouldn’t have a soul, remember? That- that thing would have got me… And he helped keep us safe, told us we had to go into hiding.” 

Hestia smiled triumphantly and nodded in agreement. “You’re exactly right, Dudley.”

Vernon ignored her and stared at his son like he was seeing him for the very first time. “Dudders you can’t be serious-“

It was Petunia that cut him off that time, her voice tight. “Vernon, enough.” 

The room lapsed into silence between the group, the only noise was the monotonous voice of the news reporter, informing the public of another ‘freak accident’.

Petunia stood up an hour later, heading to the kitchen to clean up, despite it already being spotless. She needed something to keep her hands and mind busy, because she couldn’t bare to think about the guilt that was trying to force itself on her whenever she thought about Harry Potter. 

It wasn’t long into her clean up when a silvery ball came bounding through the window in the shape of a lynx. Petunia screamed, dropping her cleaning supplies and almost collapsed to the floor. Figures came bounding in seconds later, two wands raised. At the sight of the Patronus, Hestia and Dedalus sighed and slumped their shoulders. Vernon and Dudley still looked shook as they helped Petunia up.

“Kingsley,” said Hestia nervously.

The Patronus twisted and emitted a deep voice. “Harry Potter’s at Hogwarts. Snape fled. We’re fighting. This is it,” and after that short speech, the bundle of light dissipated into thin air.

Hestia and Dedalus gasped, covering their mouths. Dudley took in the words carefully – Hogwarts was the wizarding school, wasn’t it? ‘This is it.’ What did that mean? All the while, Petunia stood limply against her husband’s side, too terrified to speak. She knew exactly what this meant…

“This is it,” Dedalus repeated, his voice much higher than the Patronus. “Hestia… This is it! Oh, Merlin… What do we do?”

“We… we have to stay here. That is our job – to protect Harry Potter’s family,” Hestia replied after a moments hesitation. She wanted nothing more to stand aside the Order, and fight for everything she believed in. But she had to stay, they both did, as they had vowed to do so.

Finally, Dedalus nodded and glanced over at the Dursley’s. “Do you know what this means?”

“What?” said Dudley almost immediately, his mind wandering to his cousin. He hadn’t understood just to the extent how important he had been until a few months ago, and now, his suspicions were telling him that he was too late in his guilt, too late to reconcile…

“If Harry’s at Hogwarts, then it’s only a matter of time before Death Eaters start turning up. The Order’s already on their way. This is the battle. The one where we will either come out victorious or you-know-who will finally have the power to do anything he desires. Because Harry Potter is the only thing that stands in his way.” 

“What- Is… Will the boy die?” said Vernon, his beady eyes wide.

“Only time will tell,” said Dedalus before turning his back on them and whispering furiously to Hestia.

Petunia let out a small whimper, the sudden urge to cry overpowering her senses. Dudley stood beside her, as white as a sheet and Vernon seemed to be struggling to come up with something nasty to say.

“Right,” said Hestia, looking beyond her years, “we’re going to have to pack. Take everything we need in case we have to make a quick getaway,” 

“Pack?” said Vernon, and he opened his mouth to object.

“Dad, just listen to them,” Dudley interjected, waiting for further instructions.

“Thank you,” said Hestia gratefully, who was not keen on starting a shouting match with Vernon Dursley anytime soon. “Start with your rooms first. Pack your clothes, underwear, socks, anything that you may need. Then, meet us back down here as soon as possible.” 

****

It was ten minutes past twelve in the morning when they received any new information. Hestia and Dedalus were clutching mugs of coffee, peering out the kitchen window every other minute. Dudley was deeply immersed in a book about the Darkest Wizards of the Past Millennium, his eyes rereading the section dedicated to his cousin, Harry Potter. Dudley was mentioned briefly too though under the disguise of ‘Muggle relatives’. Petunia was holding her damp handkerchief, blotting her cheeks with it every once in a while, the sickening feeling in her stomach worsening, and Vernon was sat at the head of the table, his arms crossed angrily, brooding in silence.

“Hestia, there!” cried Dedalus, breaking the silence. All three Dursley’s jumped, their eyes darting to the white lynx that was heading for the house. When it got there, the voice was the same deep one they had heard before, though this time is sounded much heavier.

“Harry Potter dead, the Lupin’s too. Run.” 

No one could quite believe the words that came from the Patronus, even as it bounded away mournfully into the dark oblivion.

Vernon could not speak. Dudley could not move. Petunia could not think.

“Oh my…” Hestia gasped, tears falling down her face. “I… I can’t- I always thought… And Remus... Tonks... I...” her body shook, and her cries grew louder.

“Hestia,” said Dedalus, his voice wavering, “we have to go. Come on, we can mourn later…”

“Go? Go where?” said Vernon, the sharpness in his tone lost. 

“We always had a backup plan if things ever went south… We’re going to have to leave the country.” Dedalus explained and with a wave of his wand, all of the boxes full of their personal items shrunk to fit into his bag.

“Leave the country! Why? F-for how long?”

Dedalus looked at him, his face devastated. “Your nephew was the only thing left that gave the people hope. If… if what Kingsley says is true… then those scared enough will join you-know-who’s side and those brave enough will die fighting.” He paused, taking in the faces of the Dursley’s, and could not comprehend that someone as great as Harry Potter could ever be related to people like them. “As for how long… Well, I don’t see us returning to England ever again, I don’t think.”

“Ever again? You must- b-but this is preposterous! Surely, he can’t be… well, he’s escaped him before, hasn’t he?”

“It must’ve been different this time,” said Hestia, her entire frame shaking, “Harry willingly went to Hogwarts, he knew he would be facing him. And well, he is… was… only a teenager after all.” She hurriedly wiped her tears and summoned her cloak. “Come on, we’ll have to be going soon, before they find us.”

“W-will there be a funeral?” asked Dudley as he stood up and zipped his coat up.

Hestia sobbed quietly. “No, I don’t think so. I dread to think what they’ll do with the body.”

“They won’t do anything to him, will they?” said Dudley, aghast. 

“I can’t imagine they won’t want their fun with it first, Dudley,” said Dedalus grimly as he hurried around the room. “That’s everything, right. If you’ll all exit- Mrs Dursley, are you quite all right?”

Petunia did not answer. Pain wracked through her body like no other. Anger seeped into her mind like poison, furious at magic, livid at Lord Voldemort, resentful at it all. She had now lost her sister, the girl she had once been so close to – until magic teared them apart, turned them against one another – and now the closest thing she had to Lily. Her son, who had her eyes, and was in many ways so much like Lily Evans. Petunia despised Severus Snape, and Albus Dumbledore, and that… Potter. It was all their fault, they corrupted her, killed her, even!

Magic had destroyed her family, ripped it apart mercilessly, and made her live through the pain all these years. And now… and now… it had killed her nephew too. She had sworn to stomp the magic out of him ever since he arrived on her doorstep, because she knew how deadly it was, knew the risks, and the cruelty of possessing any drop of magic in one’s blood. And it hadn’t worked – Petunia hadn’t tried hard enough. And now Lily’s son was dead. She would never see her bright, emerald eyes ever again.

“Petunia, dear-“

“Hestia! Dedalus!”

The five of them jumped tremendously at the booming voice that came from the living room. Wands at the ready, Hestia and Dedalus opened the door, guarding the Dursley’s with their lives.

A familiar man to the Dursley’s came into their vision – he was tall, dark skinned, and wearing long, blue robes. It was that man, Kingsley.

His voice was no longer mournful, but full of temporary happiness.

“Kingsley?” said Hestia hesitantly, her wand still raised.

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry. I’m Kingsley Shacklebolt, member of the Order of the Phoenix. My Patronus is a lynx – is that enough?”

“Oh well, yes – all right. What’re you doing here?”

And a wide beam split open onto Kingsley’s face. “He’s won it. We’ve won! We thought Harry dead, Hagrid came up to the castle holding Harry’s body. You-know-who - well I suppose we can say his name now- he confirmed it, gloating that he killed him. But then, the Longbottom’s kid killed his snake, Nagini, and the fighting commenced. Molly Weasley managed to defeat Bellatrix Lestrange - I know Dedalus, I couldn't quite believe my eyes - and just before you-know-who was going to strike her down, Harry cast a protection charm and took off his invisibility cloak! He was alive all along.” The words came out in a rush, Kingsley speaking so fast that the Dursley’s could scarcely keep up.

Hestia and Dedalus cried out, and hugged one another.

“I can’t believe this! Oh, Kingsley, what happened next?”

And so he told them, about the final stand off between Harry and Riddle, and how Riddle’s curse rebounded, killing him. Hestia and Dedalus gasped in all the right places, whilst the Dursley’s sat silently, trying to process all the information.

“He’s actually dead, then?” said Petunia at last, her emotions extremely unstable.

Kingsley looked over at her and nodded seriously. “He is, Mrs Dursley. Your nephew showed courage like I’ve never seen before, you should be immensely proud,” he turned back Hestia and Dedalus, “they made me temporary Minister of Magic, so I’d better get back. I’ll need to have a word with Harry after he’s rested – there’s no doubt he needs it. I’ll send someone over as soon as I can to get the Dursley’s back to Privet Drive. Thank you so much, all of you, for your patience.”

Hestia moved over and hugged Kingsley. “Take care, Kingsley. We’ll get through this together, as a community.”

“Thank you, Hestia.”

And with that, he was gone.

Within the hour, another wizard appeared, informing them that, to his surprise, Privet Drive had been left untouched for the past ten months, and after a search for any potential jinxes on the house, they’d be able to move back in no time. 

But when Petunia asked where her nephew was all the way back to Surrey, answers were brief and reluctant.

“He’s having a well-deserved rest.”

“He’ll be helping rebuild Hogwarts.”

"Mourning, probably. He's lost many friends."

“With his family, I suspect.”

That one hurt Petunia in ways she would never admit. She was his family. Her! Not any wizard or witch that had intruded on his life. She was! She was the only blood relative he had left, she had raised him, not them, she was his family!

“We’re his family,” said Petunia quietly to the wizard in the car. 

He looked at her in the driver’s mirror. “Oh, yes. Well, his loved ones, I meant to say.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi, hope you enjoyed reading this! lmk what you thought, if you'd like. i like to believe that somewhere deep down, Petunia did care for Harry in her own twisted way, and i hope i displayed those feelings well enough.
> 
> also, just to say, i don't support jkr's transphobic views - if you do, please don't read my works again. thanks :)


End file.
